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In this episode we meet Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius — a Roman scholar, philosopher, and Christian who lived at the twilight of the ancient world. From his prison cell, awaiting execution under Theodoric the Ostrogoth, Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, one of the most influential works in Western history.

This episode explores the life, context, and thought of Boethius — a man standing between two worlds: the fading classical order of Rome and the rising Christian civilization of medieval Europe. Through the figure of Lady Philosophy, Boethius sought comfort in reason, providence, and virtue. But as we’ll see, the book also reveals the limits of reason and the longing for the fuller revelation found only in Christ.

Join us as we consider:

· How Boethius bridged the gap between Plato and the early Church Fathers

· Why The Consolation of Philosophy shaped medieval theology for centuries

· The tension between philosophical reason and Christian revelation

· What Boethius’s search for peace teaches us about faith in times of suffering

· The story of Boethius reminds us that philosophy may point the way to truth — but only grace can open the gate.

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Episode Notes:

The History of the Christian Church – Season 3, Episode 1 (Part 29)

Title: The Medieval West: 500–1500 A.D.

When you think of the Middle Ages, what comes to mind? Knights in shining armour? Castles and crusades? Or perhaps plagues and superstition? In this opening episode of Season 3, we step into the thousand-year story of the Western Church during the so-called "Dark Ages."

We’ll trace how the collapse of the Roman Empire gave way to chaos and invasion, but also how the monasteries preserved learning and kept faith alive. We’ll meet thinkers like Anselm, Abelard, and Aquinas who wrestled with the relationship between faith and reason. And we’ll see why this long, often-neglected period still speaks powerfully to our questions today.

Season 3 begins here: The Medieval West, 500–1500 A.D.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Why the "Dark Ages" weren’t completely dark.
• How monasteries became oases of faith and learning.
• The rise of scholastic theology and the new role of reason.
• The clash—and attempted harmony—between philosophy and revelation.
• Why the medieval wrestle with faith and reason still matters for us today.

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Welcome to this final episode in our season on the history of the Eastern Church. Today, we arrive at the threshold of the modern era, where the clash of ideas between East and West is no longer only about emperors, councils, and icons, but about doctrine itself. In the seventeenth century, the Orthodox world faced one of its most profound internal challenges when Cyril Lucaris—Patriarch of Constantinople—penned what came to be known as The Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith.

The response came swiftly and decisively in The Confession of Dositheus—issued at the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672. This was no mild correction, but a thundering declaration that Orthodoxy would remain firmly opposed to Protestant innovations, reaffirming the authority of tradition, the necessity of the sacraments, and the enduring role of the Church’s magic and mystery.

In this episode, we’ll trace the dramatic story of these two rival confessions, explore what was really at stake, and reflect on how these texts reveal the deep fissures and convictions of a church caught between East and West. And, as always, we’ll ask the question: What can I, as an evangelical Christian, learn from this moment in history today?

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